What is love?

  
Ask a simple question, and you may expect a simple answer. But when I asked my Facebook community, “What does Love Mean to You?” the answers that rolled in spanned from a single word to a commentary.
 
It was a beautiful revelation of the meaning of love, and how it relates to each of us differently. I imagine this may depend on our life stories, past and present relationships, how we were raised.

... please leave your comments above

There’s a beautiful meditation that opens your heart to the essence of love. You can try it now, if you’d like.
 
 
Love Meditation
 
Begin by focusing on your heart chakra located in the center of your chest. This is the seat of compassion and loving kindness.
 
Take several deep breaths into this space, imagining a glowing light or star within.  This begins the process of warming up the love within you!
 
Now think of a person, place, or thing that makes you smile. Something that truly warms your heart, and makes you happy.
 
Continue breathing into your heart chakra, now with the image of your inspiration, and allow the energy of love to expand throughout your being. Let it bring a smile to your face.
 
Think about how it makes you feel and come up with a word, words, or phrase to describe it.
 
When you’re ready, open your eyes, trusting that regardless of any given situation, you can always access this peaceful feeling. You can even use the description that came to you to bring it forth.
 
 
Typically when I engage in this exercise, an image of my adorable dog appears with his big brown eyes smiling at me with such love and playfulness. I can’t help but smile and feel loved.
 
For me, the meaning of love is being connected. Knowing when your loved one is hungry, and making the time to feed them. And having this sense of knowing reciprocated. When I’m tired or feeling down, my dog knows. He jumps up next to me and snuggles. He licks my face and stays by my side.
 
 
What Does Love Mean to You?
 
This is what my beautiful friends had to say.
 
Holly Delgaudio
It is everything
 
Andy Willoughby
Hard to explain how it feels when my children and my grandchildren hug me
 
Josie Estill
It means feeling completely safe with and cherished by my husband. And also feeling compassion and caring towards others …. This covers SO much ….
 
Janine Muehleisen
LOVE is an opening of hearts to the Universe and everyone and everything in it, regardless of whether it is good or bad, because it can bring more love and light into existence for all of us to share in and benefit from.
 
To close our hearts for any reason diminishes our capacity to change the world for better. If we can raise the energy of even the darkest of people or situations just by being the light and the love that we are meant to be, we become our greatest of purposes for existing upon the Earth.
 
If we close ourselves off to those things that make us cringe, we are denying our blessing to the world, and selfishly protecting ourselves by ignoring what we don’t care to face and stepping back from the harder task of raising up the beings and situations most in need of uplifting and healing.
 
Love and Light bearers are here to heal the world, not to ignore what we find distasteful. We are warriors for the salvation of All. Let US be LOVE!!!!!!!!
 
Nancy Houck
It’s funny you asked….. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. One aspect of love that I recognize that keep the days rolling by is commitment. For feelings to stick I need commitment to someone and from someone.
 
Linda Fulleda
Wow, what a question.
 
It’s a feeling of warmth security and confidence that I’d like to give to my close people and to have it reciprocated. The knowledge that there is nothing that can’t be said or shared, appreciation of each other and of the beauty around us, to not take any of it for granted.
 
It’s almost a warm and energetic, internal feeling that you hope radiates outwardly to the people you care about and maybe radiates so much so that others pick it up, and it spreads.
 
Lori Ventura Gordon
You don’t say love, you feel love
 
Brad Haynes
Care
 
Chris Cook
Never having to say you’re sorry? (I never understood that, did you?)
 
Charla Kucko
Unconditional, hopeful, compassionate, genuine, eternal
 
Andrea LiquidArt
Caring and loyalty
 
Dave Kaspersin
speciallady.net
 
Candy Bernhard
Love is like your best fitting jeans
 
Timothy Morris
Listening
 
Kathy Jackson
Love means genuinely caring for someone else’s well being.. Wanting the best for them… Without an expectation..
 
Timothy Corbett
It means I’ll always have a reason to smile and never feel alone
 
Sherri Longyear
Staying connected
 
Lisa Calabresi
Never ending forgiveness. Lifetime endurance and trying to understand and learn. Always giving your best, even when falling short, everyday is new.
 
Velvet Spicer
Trust, above all else
 
Paul J Green
Caring deeply
 
 
Ask yourself what love means to you, and bring it into every aspect of your life.

​This article was published in the March 2022 issue of RochesterWomanOnline. 
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